Traditional corn milling involved single step processes which would slowly grind corn to form corn flour or corn grits. However, flours and grits produced by traditional whole grain milling did not have a long shelf life because they would become rancid.
As corn milling technology advanced with the arrival of the industrial revolution, corn kernels were separated into their constituent parts in the initial processing steps and finely or coarsely ground in the latter steps. One of the reasons for this initial separation was to remove the oil-containing germ so that the oil content of the flour and grits could be minimized thereby minimizing rancidity problems.
However, by separating the kernel into its constituent parts before the principal grinding steps, the resulting corn flour and grits are less nutritious than the traditional whole corn flour and grits. In particular, the resulting corn flour and grits are missing the oil, protein, and bran content of traditional whole grain corn products. Research has increasingly shown the importance of bran in the diet. Thus, there is a need for stabilized whole corn products that do not become rancid.